In The Shade Of The Yew Tree
by Colt in the Moon
Summary: During the Last Olympian, Michael Yew fell off the Williamsburg Bridge.  However, he didn't die.  Instead, he woke up on the beach somewhere near San Francisco.  A place where everybody spoke Latin. Prequel to "Son of Neptune"
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I am not Rick, I do not own PJO. I do own original characters I create. But if you want to use any of my Original Characters, just ask**

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**In The Shade Of The Yew Tree**

**Chapter One: The Day the Music Almost Died**

**Manhattan, Williamsburg Bridge, Battle of New York**

A loud bellowing of a bull echoed across the bridge.

I fired one of my sonic arrows at the minotaur as it slowly came into view from behind the dozens of dracenae. No such luck. It simply bounced off of its armor.

"Damn." I said.

Arrows flew all around me. Some hit their targets and disentagrated the monsters, but it was almost as bad as a hydra. For every enemy destroyed, it was like two more took its place.

"Retreat!" I yelled.

I fired another arrow at a dracenae. It hit directly at the throat, and the monster disentagrated into golden dust. The army still marched forward.

I ran behind one a parked school bus.

A limo crashed a few feet in front of me, and I decided to reatreat just a little bit further. I looked into the sky.

"Thank the gods," I said. It was a pegasus, and it was carrying PErcy and Anabeth.

They landed a dozen feet behind, and I ran over to greet them. I probably didn't look all that nice. My face was smeared with soot, my quiver was almost empty. But Hey, at least I was having a good time. NOT.

"Glad you could join us," I said. I looked up at the sky, hoping Clarisse might be following behind them or something. "Where are the other reinforcements?"

Percy looked down at the pavement. "For now, we're it."

"Then we're dead." Seriously, we were dead. I was lucky that I still had some drachmas in my pocket that I could pay Charon with. Just in case.

"You still have your flying chariot?" Annabeth asked.

I shook my head. "Nah. Left it at camp. I told Clarisse she could have it. Whatever you know? Not worth fighting about anymore."  
Damned Clarisse, I thought, one day, your pride's gonna get someone killed. Probably today. "But she said it was too lat. We'd insulted her honor for the last time or some stupid thing."

Probably wasn't a good thing what I did after that though.

"Least you tried." Percy said.

"Yeah, well, I called her some names when she said she still wouldn't fight. I doubt that helped."

The minotaur bellowed again. Damn. "Here come the uglies!"

I notched an arrow and fired it into the crowd of monsters.

When it landed, it unleashed a blast like a power chord on an electric guitar magnified through the world's largest speakers. The nearest cars exploded. Monsters dropped their weapons and clasped their ears in pain. Some ran. Others disintegrated on the spot.

I reached back for another and found my quiver empty. Damn. "That was my last sonic arrow."

"A gift from your dad?" Percy asked. "God of music?"

Duh. I wanted to slap my palm to my face. I could see why Annabeth called him seaweed brain.

Instead I grinned. "Loud music can be bad for you. Unfortunately, it doesn't always kill."

I looked to the group of monster that my last arrow had hit. They were starting to regroup, shaking off their confusion.

"We have to fall back. I've got Kayla and Austin setting traps further down the bridge."

Percy looked serious. His face took on the guise of a true leader. "No." He ordered. "Bring your campers forward to this position and wait or my signal. We're going to drive the enemy back to Brooklyn."

Seriously, Brooklyn was that bad.

I laughed at my own thought. "How do you plan to do that?"

Percy drew his sword.

Annabeth hugged Percy. "Percy," she said,"let me come with you."

"Too dangerous," Percy said. "Besides, I need you to help Michael coordinate the defensive line. I'll distract the monsters. You group up here. Move the sleeping mortals out of the way. Then you can start picking off monsters while I keep them focused on me. If anybody can do all that, you can."

I snorted. He was going to get himself killed. "Thanks a lot."

Percy then just walked out from behind the bus and headed toward the enemy. Yes, he was crazy.

The minotaur bellowed and crushed the front end of a Lexus.

Then crazy happened.

The dracenae threw dozens of javelins at Percy, and he dodged them all. All of them seemed only inches away from killing him.

A hellhound leapt at Percy, but he calmly brushed it aside, and finished it off. Every single monster just stood there.

Not so tough now, are they, I thought.

I didn't know what happened next. One minute the minotaur was charging at Percy. He was a goner. Then the next, the minotaur was dissolving into a million bits of dust.

I don't know what had gotten into Percy, because right after that he ran headon to the entire monster army. Not a single blow struck him. It was amazing! But all the monster had to do was stay away from Percy.

"Hey Guys!" I yelled. "Help Percy out. Fire everything you've got!"

Hundreds of arrows flew toward the monsters. A few moments later, the turned tail and ran.

I climbed on top of the bus. "Yeah! That's what I'm talking about!"

The cheer was spreading. I leapt down from the bus and ran toward the retreating monsters. "Charge!" I screamed. Dozens of campers echoed the yell behind me.

We drove them back toward the Brooklyn side of the bridge. The sky was growing pale in the east. I could see the toll stations ahead. "Percy!" Annabeth yelled. "You've already routed them. Pull back! We're overextended!"

It was too late. He had arrived. Kronos.

Every single person stopped dead in their tracks. His head slowly trotted toward Percy. Kronos's eyes gleamed like molten gold. Even from half-a-mile away he looked like he could kill. I wouldn't hesitate to assume that the guy who said "If looks could kill" was thinking of Kronos when he said it.

"Now," Percy said calmly. "Its time to pull back."

The Titan lord's men drew their swords and charged. The hooves of their skeletal horses thundered against the pavement. Our archers shot a volley, bringing down several of the enemy, but they just kept riding.

"Retreat!" Percy yelled."I'll hold them."

"Retreat!" I echoed. I hung back, taking up a position next to one of the suspension cables.

In a matter of seconds they were on us.

Annabeth stayed right beside Percy, fighting with her knife and mirrored shield as Percy and her slowly backed up the bridge.

Kronos's cavalry swirled around us, slashing and yelling insults. The Titan himself advanced leisurely, like he had all the time in the world. Being the lord of time, I guess he did.

I notched a few arrows I had gotten from Will Solace. That slowed me down, but these weren't monsters. They were demigods who'd fallen under Kronos's spell. I couldn't see faces under their battle helmets, but some of them had probably been my friends. Not anymore though. Percy slashed the legs off their horses and made the skeletal mounts disintegrate. After the first few demigods took a spill, the rest figured out they'd better dismount and fight on foot.

Annabeth and him stayed shoulder to shoulder, facing opposite directions. A dark shape passed over me, and I dared to glance up. Blackjack and Porkpie were swooping in, kicking our enemies in the helmets and flying away like very large kamikaze pigeons.

Thank Zeus, I thought.

"Annabeth!" Percy yelled. He turned just in time to see her fall, clutching her arm. A demigod with a bloody knife stood over her. I had missed what happened. I was too busy looking at the pegasi.

I locked eyes with the enemy demigod. He wore an eye patch under his war helm: Ethan Nakamura, the son of Nemesis. Somehow he'd survived the explosion on the Princess Andromeda. I fired an arrow, but Percy slammed him in the face with his sword hilt so hard that he dented his helm. It missed.

"Get back!" Percy yelled, slashing the air in a wide arc, driving the rest of the demigods away from Annabeth. "No one touches her!"

"Interesting," Kronos said.

He towered above me on his skeletal horse, his scythe in one hand. He studied the scene with narrowed eyes as if he could sense that Percy had just come close to death, the way a wolf can smell fear.

"Bravely fought, Percy Jackson," he said. "But it's time to surrender . . . or the girl dies."

"Percy, don't," Annabeth groaned. Her shirt was soaked with blood.

"Blackjack!" Percy yelled.

As fast as light, the pegasus swooped down and clamped his teeth on the straps of Annabeth's armor.

They soared away over the river before the enemy could even react.

Kronos snarled. "Some day soon, I am going to make pegasus soup. But in the meantime . . ." He dismounted, his scythe glistening in the dawn light. "I'll settle for another dead demigod."

Percy met his first strike with Riptide. The impact shook the entire bridge, but luckily I held my ground. Kronos's smile wavered.

With a yell, Percy kicked his legs out from under him. Kronos's scythe skittered across the pavement. PErcy stabbed downward, but he rolled aside and regained his footing. His scythe flew back to his hands.

"So . . ." he said, looking mildly annoyed. "You had the courage to visit the Styx. I had to pressure Luke in many ways to convince him. If only you had supplied my host body instead . . . But no matter. I am still more powerful. I am a TITAN."

Wait. Percy visited the styx. I guess that's what made him so invunerable.

He struck the bridge with the butt of his scythe, and a wave of pure force sent a shockwave through the air. I hung tightly to the cable. Cars went careening. Demigods—even Luke's own men—were blown off the edge of the bridge. Suspension cords whipped around, and Percy skidded halfway back to Manhattan.

Percy got unsteadily to his feet. I looked toward the end of the bridge. The remaining Apollo campers had almost made it to the end of the bridge, all except for me, perched on one of the suspension cables a few yards away from Percy. I notched the last arrow I had on my bow. I aimed dead center on Kronos.

"Michael, go!" Percy screamed.

Like Hades, I would. I fired my arrow, but Kronos simply swatted it away like a fly.

"Percy, the bridge!" I called. "It's already weak!"

It was. At first I didn't understand. Then I looked down and saw fissures in the pavement. Patches of the road were half melted from Greek fire. The bridge had taken a beating from Kronos's blast and the exploding arrows.

"Break it!" I yelled. "Use your powers!"

It was a desperate thought—no way it would work-but still. Percy stabbed Riptide into the bridge. The magic blade sank to its hilt in asphalt. Salt water shot from the crack like he'd hit a geyser. He pulled out my blade and the fissure grew. The bridge shook and began to crumble. Chunks the size of houses fell into the East River. Kronos's demigods cried out in alarm and scrambled backward. Some were knocked off their feet. The bridge was shaking too much. I dropped my bow, and tumbled into the river below.

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**A/N: So, what do you think? Please Read and Review.**


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Please Read and Review. Reyna as far as I know is not a daughter of Apollo, so I made her the Sybil. The Roman Oracle. She's kinda like Percy's Rachel, if Percy had chosen Rachel.**

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**Chapter Two: THE TEST OF MARS**

Michael groaned his head felt like it was on fire. Something at the back of his mind told him he had felt this way before. He tried to stand up and a wave of nausea slammed into him.

His vision cleared enough to allow him to see his surroundings, which didn't offer much detail anyways. He was on a beach. It was in the middle of the night. He saw some stars in the sky; there was one constellation that he vaguely recognized. Like it was on the tip of his tongue, it irritated him to no end.

After a few minutes, he felt better enough to try to speak. His tongue felt like it was made out of sand. "Where am I?"

Michael racked his brain, trying to figure the last thing he could remember. He was falling off a bridge. That was in New York, and this was certainly NOT New York.

He slowly got up and had only taken a few steps before a guy with very tidy blonde hair. It looked like he might have just combed it. Within the blink of an eye, the boy had a sword against his throat.

Yep, definitely a demigod.

"Hey," he gasped, "What's going on here?"

The boy scowled, his blue eyes flashing. "Who are you?"

Michael opened his mouth, and then closed it. Who was he? All he remembered that his name was Michael, and that he had fallen off a bridge in New York fighting Kronos. He remembered Camp Half-Blood, but it was like everything heading toward it had been erased. He couldn't remember exactly where it was. He figured that it wouldn't matter much anyways. "I'm Michael…" He trailed off.

The blade was pushed harder into his throat but nothing happened. Michael didn't feel the blade; in fact, if he hadn't looked, he probably wouldn't have known the boy was holding a sword. "Michael who?"

He dared a shrug; an instinct told him that the boy could become very dangerous. "Michael Yew."

The boy raised an eyebrow. "Why are you here and how did you get here?"

Michael sighed, "All I remember is fighting against Kronos…" This cause the boy to look a bit confused, "in New York, and then I fell off a bridge. As for how I got here, I really don't know. Can't you tell me?"

"Kronos…. You mean Saturn?" The boy's face went from suspicious to wary in an instant. He still didn't lower the blade. "We're in California."

Wow, Michael thought. California. Sun, Surf, and Sand. "Really, California?"

"Yes," the boy snapped. "Didn't you hear me? Now, answer the other question before I chop you to pieces. How did you get here?"

Hopefully the boy wasn't going to chop him to pieces. "I already told you. I don't know how I got here, I got here. I just woke up here."

Something about the way he acted seemed to convince the boy. Once the blade was away from his neck, he took a chance to take a look at him. He was just a bit taller then he was him, and he was wearing some type of armor that he vaguely recognized. He saw a glimpse of a purple shirt underneath.

The boy muttered to himself, "Why didn't Lupa sense you?"

Michael couldn't help but ask, "Lupa?"

The boy gave a quick, suspicious glance at him. "Someone you probably need to know. Follow me." He pulled at Michael's shirt and he stumbled behind him. "Reyna! You and the others come out. He seems clean."

Michael's eyes widened slightly when he saw seven other teenagers dressed similarly as the girl. Two of them were girls and the other five were boys. They all looked intimidating. The girl with red hair was holding a dagger; the others were holding swords that looked like they were made of gold. _Why would they have gold swords?_ He felt like that it was wrong.

The redhead glared at him, her eyes were brown. "Lupa will punish you if you bring him to camp, Jason. And she will kill him."

"Back off, Reyna. Just because you're the Sybil, and my girlfriend, doesn't grant you any special privileges."

Reyna shrugged and shoved Michael down the hill. Michael instantly wanted to turn around so that 'Reyna' and 'Jason' didn't have to face his back. "If Lupa kills him, then he dies. He must be a _demigod _or an unlucky mortal."

'Reyna' rolled her eyes, "Fine. Just don't expect the punishment to be easy. Lupa's been acting strange since we've gotten back from Mt. Othrys."

Michael became curious but didn't dare turn around.

Mt. Othrys? Who are these people?

After a few minutes of walking, they had arrived at a huge fort. Michael was impressed by the size of it. There was a huge ditch that seemed to surround the fort. Twelve watchtowers were placed strategically around the fort. The walls were made of a white grey stone and were about twenty five feet tall, according to Michael's estimations. The watchtowers glowed faintly with light.

Once they were about ten yards away from the fort. He saw that they had a drawbridge gate that was made from gold and wood. Again, what was with the gold? That nagging feeling that he was missing something very important. 'Jason' held her sword and made a flash against one of the lights. Almost instantly the gate began to lower, followed by a few shouts. They crossed the ditch and Michael noticed something splash in the ditch. He began to feel slightly nervous. _Maybe I'm totally out of my league right now_.

Before they could enter the fort, a boy with closely cropped auburn hair stopped them; he pointed a sword at Michael. What was with the sword pointing anyways? Someone could get hurt? Michael wasn't even sure he could do _any_ harm.

'Jason' scowled deeper. "Shut up, Bobby!" 'Bobby instantly fell silent. "He was in the camp borders and completely weaponless. I figure he would make some use of entertainment for Lupa."

Bobby looked at him with dark eyes. Something about those eyes made Michael angry and want to fight Bobby until he was on the floor, crying his eyes out. Or at least admit defeat. Bobby looked like it would take a lot for him to cry. "What's his name?"

"He calls himself Michael." Jason answered.

Michael muttered, "Michael can talk." Bobby sent a glare at him; Michael felt the urge to stick his tongue at him.

"Fine, but don't come running to me when Lupa punishes you." Bobby replied, he turned around and left, shouting at a few kids in a language Michael vaguely recognized.

Reyna shoved Michael making him stumble. His back felt feverish when she touched him.

Michael looked around. There were twelve huge tents near the middle of the fort with about a dozen smaller ones behind them. They were color coded. Three tents were slightly bigger than the other nine. Michael wondered why they were the only ones without smaller tents behind them.

The biggest tent, which stood all by itself, was a stormy grey color. It seemed to flap like there was a strong wind blowing against it. It occasionally flashed a bright yellow. There were two marble eagles on either side of the tent.

Near it, was a tent that was only slightly smaller than the first one. To Michael, it was perhaps the most beautiful tent in the whole fort. It was a sea-green that matched the ocean. It glowed faintly and showed a few fishes swimming lazily. Michael was astounded by this as he watched the bottom of the tent showing a beautiful, multi-colored reef with fish swimming; Michael recognized a few of the fish. One of them looked straight at Michael then swimming away. Like the first tent, there were two marble statues on either side of the tent but they were horses rearing up instead of eagles

The third tent wasn't as spectacular as the other two. The tent was as black as a nightmare and seemed to suck up any light. Instead of having the illusion like it moved, it was completely still. It made Michael nervous and jittery as he and the others walked past it.

Michael didn't have any time to look at the other tents as Reyna made him turn left toward a huge cave. The cave was out of place compared to the tent and the fort. There were torches along the wall and it seemed that it led underground. Reyna forced Michael to stop in front of it and kneel down. Michael was beginning to dislike this girl.

_"Lupa potens, ego te oportet quod agenda. Tu nos tua gratia praesentia" _Reyna spoke out loud without an ounce of fear in her voice.

After a few minutes, Michael thought that this 'Lupa' wasn't going to show or maybe he really wasn't that important. He made a move to stand up when something emerged from the shadows. It was the biggest wolf that Michael had ever seen. It was perhaps twice as tall as him with chocolate red shaggy fur and paws as huge as dinner plates.

The wolf looked at Reyna and the others for a second before her gaze when to Michael. Her dark amber eyes were highly intelligent for a wolf.

It snarled at him and he heard a voice speak in his head. _What are you doing here at this camp, Half Blood? You don't smell Roman._

The sheer force of the voice sent Michael lower on his knees. Who exactly was this wolf and why did she have powers?

_I am Lupa, Mother of wolves and raiser of Romulus and Remus. _

Why did those names ring a bell? Even thinking about it made Michael's head hurt, along with the voice of Lupa.

Lupa shook her head at Jason and his _Contubernium. _They bowed before leaving in a rush.

Lupa turned around and glanced back at Michael. _Follow me, Half Blood. _She disappeared in the cave. He had no choice but to follow her. The cave was dry and it casually sloped downwards until it reached a huge cavern.

The cavern was filled with tables of various stuff, most looked like it was made of gold. Michael wondered how Lupa could write when she transformed right in front of him into a woman with the same color hair and eyes. Michael wasn't really surprised which surprised him. How could he react so normally?

She handed him a cup. "Drink." She said.

He thought it was best not to disobey the scary wolf-lady. He took a big gulp. After a few minutes, nothing had happened. "So you are a demigod," the wolf-lady said. "That was nectar. IF mortals drank that, they would burn up."

"Michael Yew," she said, growling. Michael flinched at his name. It wasn't scary normally, just when the wolf-lady said it. "Your father has taken a great risk by putting you in my camp. I should kill you but I cannot, yet."

Michael couldn't help himself from asking, "Why?"

Lupa sent him a cold look. Lupa growled, seemingly angry at Michael. "Yes, right now I have little choice. Unless you prove yourself weak, I cannot kill you."

"Isn't that a bit harsh?" Michael didn't like the sound of the word weak. "I'm sorry to ask, but who's my dad?"

"I cannot tell you fully. You must discover this yourself while at my camp. You will go through the Tests of Parentage."

"I'm staying here?" _Wait a minute; tests?_

Lupa nodded. Michael had no clue what she was talking about but it seemed safer just to agree.

"Things will become easier if you survive. Come, it's time for the Tests of Parentage." Lupa changed back into a wolf and walked back out of the cave. Michael scrambled to follow her.

"Prove myself?"

_These tests will tell you who your father is. First is the Test of Mars. You will battle my second strongest warrior._

_Wait, who's Mars?_

_You might know him better as Ares._

Michael looked around the fort again as Lupa led him to the far right corner. Most of the kids and teens there straightened when Lupa passed by. They just scowled at Michael. Jeez, what was their problem?

"Second strongest?" Lupa ignored him.

The sun was rising as they arrived at a huge pit. It was about fifteen feet deep and made a huge circle. The bottom of it was covered in gravel. Michael leaned over it and said "Whoa. How long did it take to-Ahh!"

Lupa had pushed Michael into the pit with her nuzzle. Michael had landed on his stomach and coughed. "What was that for?"

Lupa ignored him and howled. Almost instantly, the campers had surrounded the pit, followed by some wolves smaller in stature than Lupa.

Michael heard her speaking with such authority that it almost made him want to obey her. _Roman Warriors, it is time for the Test of Mars. This boy shall battle the Praetor of the Mars Legion._

Apparently, this was a huge entertainment for them because they began to cheer loudly when Bobby emerged from the ground and jumped into the pit gracefully. Michael muttered something under his breath.

Bobby gave him a dark smirk and pulled out a gold sword.

"Wait! Don't I get some sort of weapon?" Michael shouted as he backed up when Bobby took a test swing. The crowd above him snickered.

_You must prove yourself by yourself, this is how it works. _Lupa explained with some patience. Michael groaned and looked at Bobby. Something about him vaguely reminded Clarisse, only meaner and more terrifying, which is normally very hard to pull off.

The lack of weapon didn't appear to bother Bobby as he swung at Michael. He instinctively ducked and rolled away from Bobby.

He had accidentally pulled the object from his pocket. It was a ballpoint pen, black ink and probably worth thirty cents. Great, Michael thought bitterly as he dodged one of Bobby's stabs, I can draw on him to defeat.

He could see some annoyance in the crowd and Bobby as he repeated dodged Bobby's sword and physical attacks. His body seemed to be thinking on his own. He saw every attack Bobby was about to do before he did it. He saw every piece of gravel in the pit.

Bobby howled in rage. "Stop moving around and let me hit you!"

"No!" Michael yelled back, dodging another of Bobby's strikes.

As Michael leaned back, he tripped over a huge rock and went sprawling on his back. His back felt like it was on fire and he couldn't get up fast enough. Bobby had the gold sword against his throat, grinning triumphantly.

He held up the sword in defense as Bobby swung for the kill.

There was a thump and Michael blacked out.

**To be continued: Chapter 3: I Get Electrocuted and Drown, all in the same day**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Not as long of a chapter as the others. Please Read and Review**

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**Chapter 3:**

Michael woke up in the infirmary. It felt like he had been hit by a train.

"What happened?" he asked groggily. "Did anybody get the license plate of that chariot?"

The whole infirmary laughed.

"I see you woke up." Michael turned to the voice. It was Bobby, the son of Mars that had knocked him out. "No hard feelings?" he asked. Michael took his outstretched hand and sat up.

"It was just a test to determine your godly parent." He said. "You see, if your dad was Mars, like mine; you probably would have fared a little bit better. At least now we know your dad isn't Mars. Although sometimes during the test, the gods just let their kids die. That just means that they were too weak."

"Anyway, Lupa sent me to tell you that it's time for the next test."

Michael followed him outside the tent. The entire sky smelt of ozone. It was covered by dark gray clouds. Thunder boomed in the distance. Luckily it hadn't started to rain yet.

They walked a good mile or so until they came to the edge of a cliff. Lupa's wolf form stood near the edge. "I can go no further." Bobby told him.

A low growl came from Lupa, nearly knocking Michael off his feet. At least it's not stinky wolf-breath, he thought. Lupa issued a much louder growl, causing even Bobby to back up.

When am I going to remember gods can do the whole read-your-mind thing. Michael ran to the side of Lupa. If wolves could smile, Michael would bet that Lupa was smiling. Yes, it was weird.

"What do I do?" Michael asked.

"Survive." She said calmly.

Wait, wasn't that from a movie? Michael thought. But it was already too late.

"O Mighty Jupiter," she howled into the gray sky. Lightning flashed. Thunder roared. Michael guessed the Jupiter had heard. "Strike this pup with your power! Prove that he his worthy!"

"Whoa, wait just a minute" Michael said. This was an opportunity he may not be able to revel in later. I just had to have an opening, but which one to use though, he wondered. "Thunder…Thunder… " he slashed his sword through the air, "No wait. By the power of Greysku….." Michael yelled holding his sword high, but he didn't get to finish.

That was because at that exact moment, a bolt of lightning ripped the sky in two and impacted directly with Michael.

Lupa cringed, her paws hiding her eyes. It was never wise to make the king of the Gods angry.

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He woke up in the infirmary, again.

Jason was standing next to him. "So I guess I don't get to call you brother."

He shook his head, and winced in pain.

"It's a feeling everybody gone through here. The Test of Jupiter is normally one of the first tests new campers go through."

"It's time for another test isn't it."

Jason nodded. "The Test of Neptune."

"What going to happen to me this time."

"We hold you underwater, and see how long you last."

Michael sat up. The pain was slowly going away. "So, where to?"

"Lupa told us to meet her down by the river."

It was a good walk to the river. Walking next to him, Michael knew Jason was the man to follow. He was a born leader. "So, Jason, how long have you been at camp?"

"I've been here as long as I can remember. Ever since I was a baby."

"It must have been tough." Michael remembered the other camp, and every year a few people died. Jason grew up here; made friends here; lost friends here.

"Yeah," Jason said.

After a few minutes of silence, they had made it to the river. Reyna, Bobby, and another girl were all standing around Lupa. It looked like she was telling them something, but Michael didn't hear what.

"Michael." Lupa ordered. "Get in the river."

The water was cold, but he soon grew accustomed to it. Jason and the other campers that were standing next to Lupa waded out into the river with him.

"Hold him." Lupa said.

Michael immediately felt pull pairs of arms grab onto each limb and push him under the water.

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_**_FLASHBACK_**_

_**He was falling. He was falling into the Hudson River, over a hundred feet below him. The impact knocked the wind out of him, so as soon as he was underwater, he had a mouthful of the river.**_

_**It was actually cleaner than he expected, being the Hudson. That was all thanks to Percy. He tried to swim to the surface but the current pulled him down. He slowly sank to the thick layer of mud at the bottom. His eyes were bulging out of his skull. He wouldn't be able to hold his breath any longer. He closed his eyes and hoped that he had earned Elysium.**_

_**"Michael. Wake up!" a woman voiced echoed through the water. Michael's eyes shot open. A gorgeous woman stood before him, wearing sea-green armor. Her long black hair flowed in the current. Tiny little crabs scurried over her armor and through her hair. He was left breathless in more ways than one.**_

_**Michael laughed at his little joke, and so did the woman. Who is she? he wondered.**_

_**"I am Amphitrite."**_

_**Oh, Poseidon's wife.**_

_**"Yes." **_

_**Why me? He asked.**_

_**"You are very important. Something big is happening, Hera has a plan, but all the pieces need to fall into place perfectly."**_

_**What plan?**_

_**"Hera did not tell me. She simply asked me to send you to a certain place near San Francisco, and watch over you. Zeus is worried, and is thinking about closing Olympus. Don't worry though, you will forget this conversation."**_

_**Forgetting is not knowing until the time is right, he thought singing the tune from a movie he had seen.**_

_**"Yes. When the time is right, you'll know what needs to be done." she said. "Goodbye, Michael Yew."**_

_**_Flashback End_**_

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Michael felt himself being pulled out of the water.

"About time…" he complained. Then somebody elbowed him. He looked up. It was the woman he had just seen when he had nearly drowned in the Hudson River.

"Hello Michael." She said.

"Hello Salacia." He replied, remembering her Roman name.

Salacia turned to Lupa. "The tests end. This boy is under my protection. He is the son of Apollo."

"We would have found out eventually." Lupa said. There was a hint of worry in her voice. "Why are you here?"

"Come," the goddess said. "Let us talk alone for a bit."

Lupa turned. "Jason, take Michael to receive his mark."

Jason nodded. Lupa was gone.

_

* * *

_

"Please! I didn't do anything! You don't have to do this!"Michael's pleas fell on deaf ears, as he was strapped down onto a metal table in the forge.

"Stop screaming, Michael." Reyna growled. "Not even Jason pleaded this much when he was branded! And boy did he scream!"

Jason punched her in the shoulder

"Hey! I didn't do anything! Just telling it like it was." Reyna said, earning her another punch.

"Don't worry Michael, everybody has to go through it." He pulled up his shirt sleeve, revealing a brazen eagle under the letters SPQR. Below the eagle were several lines.

"You think I don't know that?" Reyna said. "Michael, you've earned this. When people see this brand, they'll know you're a true Roman, so don't chicken out!" Reyna explained, lightly touching something that was in the furnace.

"The pain won't last long." She whispered, leaning in close so that her mouth was touching Michael's ear. "It only hurts when it first touches you."

"You never told me about this!" Michael cried, looking at Jason with wide eyes. Taking a step back, he sighed and shook his head a bit.

"I'm sorry, Michael." He said simply as Reyna removed the branding iron from the flames. It had the shape of a blackened crow, and the letters SPQR burning bright red. She moved closer to Michael's arm, locked in place by a harness.

A scream like an animal's rang throughout the entire camp.

_ **To be continued... Chapter 4: An Old Friend**_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Please Read and Review. **

**Chapter 4: A Fragment of the Past**

The meditation practices of the Roman army had done wonders for his ADHD. It did not help an army if they had hyperactive warriors. Every day everybody at camp sat still for four hours. Now, a summer after he had arrived, it was like he had a switch that he could use to flip his ADHD on or off. It was amazing.

Michael rubbed the new brand on his arm. It was a single line, representing his first year at camp. It was hard to concentrate this morning, however. A few days ago, Jason, the camp leader, had simply vanished. Search parties had been sent, but they had not found him yet. To add to their problems, Olympus had been closed. Even the food on the altar simply burned in the fire.

"**Hello Michael,**" a voice said behind him.

What in Hades! He jumped. With his training, no normal person could sneak up on him.

He turned. _Oh, it's only Salacia_.

"**It's nice to see you as well.**"

"Is there a reason?" Michael asked.

"**Can't a goddess simply visit her champion?**" She asked. He just gave her a look. He wasn't falling for it. "**Oh, alright, I am not simply here for a visit. As you may know Olympus is on lockdown. Neptune and Pluto are trying to stall the best they can. What you may not know is that Juno is missing.** "

"Juno's missing!" Michael yelled. He had to tell Lupa immediately.

"**No. That problem's being taken care of. I'm here to tell you that the search may go better if you look around Niagara Falls. **"

"Is that where we'll find Jason?" he asked.

"**Perhaps.**" She said. Michael turned away as the goddess transformed into a supernova and disappeared.

Before he knew it, it was getting dark._ Why Salacia had to take so long, I'll never know, _he thought.

_Okay, Michael, you can do this, _he thought to himself as he walked into the main building_. You just have to explain to the whole camp and an angry wolf that Jason might be at Niagara Falls. _Yea, that should be easy. Or, at least he hoped.

It was dark out by now, and the moon hung lazily in the sky where it almost always was. Diana must really like that spot for some reason. The cabin lights were on, probably since it wasn't exactly lights out, but everyone was getting ready to sleep. Michael could hear their voices floating through the windows, but even with that, everything seemed relatively quiet as he made her way to the Big Tent.

He knocked on the door, hoping that Lupa wouldn't be in a bad mood that she was in normally to deal with Mr. B. She could be a lot worse if she had to deal with him.

After a second, the door swung open to reveal Lupa, her wolf fur in curlers. Michael tried to stifle his laughter, but it came out anyways. Lupa growled.

"Sorry."

"Michael, where have you been?" she demanded, "No one saw you since you since this morning" Lupa suddenly fell silent and looked around, as if expecting someone to be standing next to him "Is something wrong?" Lupa finally asked.

Michael swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat, and somehow managed to find his voice: "I think I might know where Jason is," she murmured, "I was meditating, and Salacia came to visit me, and she kinda told me where to look..." For the first time in a while, Michael was at a loss for words. "I think Jason might be at Niagara Falls."

There was a silence, and Michael thought for a moment that he hadn't said anything at all. It was then that Lupa cleared her throat.

"Well, I believe that you want to go and find him," he said. It was probably meant to be a question, but it came out as a statement instead.

Michael nodded in reply, hoping that it would be approved. He could go and save Jason! Why would the goddess visit him if it wasn't in some way important.

Lupa sighed. "Can you do me a favor and take a new camper with you?" he asked, "She needs some experience, and this might be the best time for that."

Michael furrowed his brow in confusion. "Who did you have in mind, Lupa?"

The old she-wolf held up her paw. "We can discuss that in the morning," he said, "Right now, you need to go and get some sleep."

Michael opened his mouth to argue, but Lupa gave him a stern look, as if trying to say _'Go to bed before I eat you. _It would be pretty hard to listen to Chiron though, since he was just stubborn enough to not care. It meant helping his friend, he'd do anything. Even though he really wanted to, Michael didn't argue. He didn't want to get eaten.

With a heavy sigh, Michael turned around on his heel and made his way to the familiar cabin of Apollo. He opened the door and quietly went inside, hoping that he wouldn't alert any of his siblings to hs presence. Unfortunately, he had never did have the best luck. He had fallen off a bridge, for Jove's sake.

"Where were you?" Mary, a ten-year-old asked worriedly, "We thought Lupa might have eaten you."

"I'm fine," He said quietly, trying to sound calm.

Marcia, one of the eldest daughters of Apollo, saw right through him. "What's wrong?" he asked.

Michael shook her head, and then headed over to his bunk. "Not right now," he murmured, "We'll discuss it in the morning."

Marcia looked like she doubted that it was only 'nothing' bothering Michael, but she didn't say anything else or prompt him to go on. She just watched him as he trailed over to his bunk, looking slightly down, as if he were angry or upset. Michael was incredibly strong son of Apollo, one of the strongest that she'd ever met, so it was unusual for him to act that way. Even if he was just tired, she would walk with his head high, ready to defeat anything.

The next morning, Lupa was outside the tent with Reyna.

"Wait," I said. "You want me to take her?" I asked Lupa.

The she-wolf nodded.

"But she's the Sibyl! She's practically a mortal!"

Reyna spat on the ground, and glared at Michael angrily. "I am not a mortal, son of Apollo. I am the daughter of Roma, the great goddess of Rome."

"She needs the experience." Lupa said.

"Oh, alright, she can come along. We'll leave immediately. Get ready and meet me at the pegasi stables."

By the end of the first day flying, Michael could tell that the two of them were just passed the Mississippi. The plains slowly gave way to hill country, and the ground became patch-like, sort of looking like a quilt. It was about five-thirty, and they would have to stop soon. Flying in the dark is not the best. You can go by the moonlight to see where you are going, but one minute you could be squinting to visualize, and the next, a giant airplane is soaring next to you. Or you could keep on getting blown off track, and later you realize that you have been traveling in circles for two days.

He wasn't ready to risk any of those delaying problems to cross our path, so he told Reyna that now would be a good time to rest and get some sleep. They found a nice clearing south of St. Louis, and settled down along the edge of it. After eating, both of them went right to sleep.

Michael was moving faster now, faster, and faster. He was screaming, I could hear myself now. Someone had their hands on his shoulders, pinning him down to the ground. He grabbed at them, trying to release the strong, dangerous hold that was not letting him move an inch. Michael scraped harder, clawing at air and not able to grab at his attacker's face. The attacker was saying something to him now, talking, and yelling his name over and over. What was Michael's plan? And then he gasped awake, looking into the hard, red face of Reyna. She had her hands on Michael's shoulders and called his name again.

"What-what happened?" he asked.

She laughed. "Bad dream? Or was it your vision. Although I don't recall you trying to kill someone the last time it happened."

"Sorry, I thought you were-it was a bad dream, and I guess I thought you were trying to hurt me."

She sat back down on her sleeping back, and brought her knees up to her chest. "So it wasn't your dad or Salacia then? No new news?"

Michael shook his head twice. "None. Sorry I woke you up."

"It's alright. What time do you want to start up tomorrow?"

All he could think about was finishing this little job and finding Jason, then everything would be right again.

"Same time as today, is that okay?"

"Sure thing," she said while she was yawning.

Both of them had a little trouble falling back to sleep that night. Michael guessed was that we had about a day and a half left of flying to do yet, which meant that the more sleep they got, the easier it would be.

They woke up right on schedule, and were in the air just as the sun shone over the fields below them. They flew straight that day, trying to avoid any major cities with major any airports, stopping to eat lunch and rest for an hour, and then return to their rides. The rest of the afternoon past by in a blur, as the flat lands of the hills continued on for what felt like forever. Mile after mile, the monotony continued. Finally, when the sun had set, and they couldn't see more than ten feet in front of them, they had no choice but to land and spend the night. They were somewhere in Ohio, Michael guess

"It doesn't seem like we are getting anywhere," Michael said tying up the Pegasi.

Reyna grabbed the tent and started to connect the poles a few yards away.

"Well, we know we are getting closer to Niagara. We can't be that far away now," she reassured me.

They ate what was left of their main course meals. It looked like from that point until they arrived back at camp, they would be living off of granola bars and pudding cups. Michael's yawn signaled to him that it was time to get some rest. He announced that he was turning in for the night, and Reyna agreed. They climbed into the tent without any words and lay down quietly.

They woke up later the next morning, and could hear birds chirping around them, and the faint glow of the rising sun illuminated their tent. They were late. They hastily shoved down a couple of granola bars before loading up their gear, and taking off. They were only flying for fifteen minutes when they started to see the landscape change. Hills turned to mountains. They were getting close. Michael could smell the water. Reyna noticed this too, and squinted ahead, and pointed.

He squint his eyes and looked as far as they would allow him. He still couldn't make anything out. Then Reyna shook his head and pointed a little upward from where she was looking. A storm, an enormous one, was forming over the Falls. You could see the swirling winds, but what caught Michael's eye most was that the clouds didn't span away from it either. It was one giant thunder cloud, surrounding only one targeted area. This was not normal, which meant that it was not good either.

Something was very wrong. The clouds swept around the rocks in a motion that could send anyone flying feet into the air. Michael looked over at Reyna, whose face was equally filled with worry, and confusion. He told my pegasus to fly downward, and faster. There was no way they were going to fly into that cloud. That was literally asking for for a one way ticket to Hades. Besides, whatever was happening in that area was not looking good. As they approached closer and closer, Michael could now see that it was not just any ordinary storm. Far below was a whirlpool at the base of the Falls. The ship had run aground on some rocks.

In his gut, Michael knew that this was the place Silicia was talking about. There were three demigods down there in danger, and in a fight, a fight that they now were going to have to join. They dove faster and faster. And then suddenly, one figure vanished. All that remained in his place was a watery vapor. Michael flew as fast as he could, but it was only getting worse down there.

A moment later, a high-pitched scream came and a girl and she fell off the side of the Falls. _Oh, no_, Michael thought. What if that was one of the demigods, one of the ones I was supposed to keep safe? He saw another person, a boy, leap of the edge into the water. This was turning completely ugly. Well, uglier. Michael turned to look at Reyna. She was shaking her head with astonishment.

"We have to get down there. Now!" And as she said the words, she ordered her Pegasi to dive more.

Michael looked back up. It was harder to see as they got closer to the storm. Raindrops stung his eyes and the wind didn't help either. But regardless, he still found myself flying into the cloud.

Then, the rain lightened. The wind had died down, and the whirlpool had reduced in size. The cloud parted in front of us, and I could see three people, two boys and a girl, on the platform below us.

They gazed up and stared as if we were an illusion. We landed right away, and Michael jumped off his Pegasus so fast it made him dizzy. He saw them then. He saw them up close. They were bruised, and hurt. Michael looked at one of the boys. Hs clothes were dry as a bone, his hair sparkling with the sunlight hitting the rain in it. The most important thing though.

"Percy? Percy Jackson?" he said.

"Do I know you?" the boy replied.

**THE END (for now)**

* * *

**A/N: Well, how did you like it? Michael was sent to the Roman camp so they would be prepared to trust Percy, and wouldn't kill him on sight. If I continue, I'll probably make Michael one of the seven of the prophecy. **


	5. Chapter 5

**_A/N: Sorry about the short chapter, I haven't written the entire story out yet. I do it on a somewhat chapter by chapter basis, following an outline._**

**_Chapter 5:_**

_"Percy? Percy Jackson?" Michael asked._

_The boy looked at him with a confused expression on his face. "Do I know you?"_

_Oh, Hades, _Michael cursed. _This is not good._

"Michael," Reyna asked, "do you know this kid?" She sounded slightly annoyed. That was expected. She was expecting to find her boyfriend, and instead, found a strange boy, who was NOT her boyfriend.

"Reyna, Percy" Michael said. "Percy, Reyna."

"Hi," Percy said waving.

"Michael," Reyna asked again, "Who. Is. This. Kid?"

"Reyna, this is Percy Jackson. I knew him from before I came to camp."

A deep roar echoed from the water. They should get going.

Michael's day was no going well. They hadn't found Jason. Percy's memory was gone, and a monster was probably really mad at them. _Well, _he thought, _there's at least one good thing about this. I get to use The Line._

Michael and Reyna jumped onto their pegasi. He stretched out a hand to Percy and said, trying to sound like the movie star, "Come with me if you want to live." _Ha, take that._

Percy grabbed his hand and jumped onto the Pegasus behind him.

They took off instantly, not stopping until they reached camp.

* * *

"Percy Jackson," Lupa growled in a gentle way. At least it was not an angry growl. Not at all like the one she had given him when she had caught him singing Duran Duran's "Hungry like a wolf." Luckily after growling, she rolled on the ground laughing.

"Michael says that you are a son of Neptune." Lupa paused. The two boys took a breath. "I believe him. Tomorrow you will receive your camp mark. "

She turned to Michael. "Michael, Escort Mr. Jackson to his tent."

"And the rest of you will get back to your tents as well." She barked to the nearby wall.

Michael and Percy exited the main tent. Nearly everybody from camp was quickly heading away from the tent. The Roman camp was primarily made up of tents. Every couple of months they would pack up the tents and moved to a new location. It was a great military strategy, always keeping the enemy guessing. It worked too. The camp had never been invaded, ever. This month they were spending time to the old permanent site they used to stay at, the Presidio in San Francisco. During the sixties, though, Lupa started to have the camp's location be more nomadic.

The Neptune Tent was a small tent. It was mostly honorary. In Tents that weren't used, like Hera's, she was the only one that went in them, and even took care of moving them to the new camp site whenever the camp moved.

Sometimes the tent would look blue, other times it would look green. It smelled like the salty sea air all the time. Showing Percy to the tent was the first time that Michael had ever even been inside of the tent. The whole floor of the cabin consisted of beach sand, even thought they were a good ways away from the water.

It's quiet, Michael thought, too quiet. Maybe I should say something.

"Don't you remember anything? Blue Food? Chiron? Rachel Elizabeth Dare? Grover? Please don't tell me that you've forgotten Annabeth too."

**PERCY**

He had been having a rough day. He had woken up around Niagra Falls and battled a giant squid-thing, and then was whisked away to San Francisco. He didn't like the feeling in his gut, the one telling him that he had no place being there at all. He was also pretty sure that the giant wolf was going to eat him.

The only light at the end of the tunnel was that there was at least one familiar face, this Michael kid. He couldn't remember anything about him, but he could have sworn that he should know who this kid is. He had even been surprised to have met him, but he still couldn't remember anything.

In the tent, he felt much more at home. He was a child of Posei… Neptune. The fact that the Greek gods exist was not very surprising. Still, if felt just slightly off-center. It was the kind of off center like when you're reading something, and your head is tilted just on the edge of having it readable. If you went any farther it would have been entirely illegible.

"Don't you remember anything? Blue Food? Chiron? Rachel Elizabeth Dare? Grover? Please don't tell me that you've forgotten Annabeth too." Michael said.

A girl with blonde hair suddenly appeared in his mind. She kissed him and after putting on a baseball cap vanished. _What in Hades was that?_ He thought. He tried to pull more memories of the girl but his mind drew a blank. All that he could remember was a name, Annabeth.

* * *

**The Next Day**

Michael's spear broke over Percy's shoulder. "By Jove Percy; can't you at least pretend that you're not invincible for at least a little while?" He sat down in the dirt of the arena.

Percy sat down next to him. "It really difficult to be something you're not."

"You need to focus Percy. The Curse of Achilles is truly a curse. You become reckless and could endanger people that you care about."

This was probably why the gods had sent him to the Roman camp. Their emphasis on discipline would train Percy to turn his ADHD on and off like a switch. It would probably be useful for every other camper back at Camp Half Blood as well.

Michael took a deep breath. It was amazing. Normally whenever he tried to look at the world it always seemed to be going in slow motion. Now, it wasn't.

"Percy, take a deep breath."

Percy inhaled deeply.

"All you need to do is to picture yourself as something that moves very slowly. Picture yourself something like a glacier or snail or something. Focus entirely on becoming like that thing. It's kinda like thinking of cold things like snow and polar bears when it is hot in order to stay cool."

Percy exhaled. Michael saw Percy's breath waft away in the air. His eyes were shut. He stood up slowly. "I'm ready."

Michael rushed at Percy. He swiped it away with a simple swing. Countless strike after strike was casually averted. Before, in battle Percy was like a sprinter, now he was more like a marathon runner. It almost looked like tai chi or something, but done a bit faster. Percy's movement flowed effortlessly like water.

Soon enough Michael ran out of steam. Percy was still practicing. _I wonder if I should go get the gun, and test if he can go bullet time. That would be fun. _Michael thought about it. _Nah, it's getting late._

He looked up at the Big Tent. The lights were off. _They were NEVER off. _

Reyna burst into the training arena, out of breath. "Lupa's missing!"


	6. Chapter 6

**A/n: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. School started back up again and since this is my senior year (college) I have a lot of work to do, not only with classes, but with a senior thesis project as well. Back to the story.

* * *

**

The entire camp was gathering around the campfire outside of Lupa's empty tent.

"I say that the new kid's to blame. He's not here less than a week and Lupa goes missing. I say we kill him." A boy said. The group of campers behind him yelled in agreement.

_Ugh,_ Michael thought,_ Sons of Mars. They're even more rude and warlike than the children of Ares._

"Decimus, calm down." Reyna ordered. The children of Mars were instantly silent. "Percy is not to blame."

"Well then, O prophetess," Decimus asked stressing the word prophetess with a sneer, "What happened to Lupa."

A look of realization dawn on Reyna's face, she gasped and brought her hand up to her mouth. "How could I be so stupid?" She ran into the empty tent and brought out a scroll. She slowly unrolled the scroll.

Michael prayed to his father for a comic moment, looking toward the setting sun.

"Friends! Romans! Countrymen! Lend me your ears!" Reyna announced. _Thanks dad, _Michael thought. Snickers ran throughout the campers until they hit the brick wall of Reyna's glare.

Reyna turned and glared at Michael. "Sorry, couldn't help myself." He told her. Ever since he had showed up at camp, people had been spouting random movie lines. Like the time when Decimus had burst out, "This IS SPART OF A DELICIOUS BREAKFAST," during breakfast a few months previously. Michael had never seen a child of Mars nor Ares turn as red.

Reyna went back to reading the scroll. "I should have remembered this. This is a prophecy I made a few months ago. I didn't realize that this was what it applied to until now."

_**Hear my words, Poseidon's child.**_

_**Listen and follow the call of the wild,**_

_**With a Golden Arrow, and child of Rome,**_

_**Along the blue paths to Olympian home.**_

_**The wolf shall be born from a dog of stone,**_

_**Only then the enemy will truly be shown.**_

"Well," Decimus asked, "what's it mean?"

A small eight-year old daughter of Minerva, aptly named Minnie, stood up. "It means, you dimwit,"

"Hey," Decimus protested, "I asked you not to use big words around me."

Minnie smiled while the non-Martian campers laughed. "Sorry. What I'm saying is that Percy has to follow Lupa's trail n order to find her. Golden Arrow probably means a child of Apollo, which I'd bet was Michael. Child of Rome most definitely means Reyna, since she's the daughter of Roma. I'm not sure what paths of blue mean, but they have to head to Olympus."

Another camper piped up. "That's in New York City. Lupa told us never to go there."

"It's part of the prophecy, so they'll have to. Anyways, they'll probably find Lupa in a wolf statue somewhere around New York."

Percy, who had been silently sitting between Michael and Reyna, slowly stood up. "I know what the paths of blue are. They're rivers. I've been having some strange dreams lately, all of them involving the ground and ending horribly. We have to avoid being on the ground as much as possible."

"Fine, Go, but if you mess up don't even bother coming back." Decimus said. "That's the rule around here, Isn't that right Michael?"

Michael slowly nodded. _Damn, Decimus is right._ No matter what kind of quest you went on, it was a law at the roman camp, that if you failed, you didn't even consider coming back to camp. Michael thought it was a very _Spartan _type of approach. _Come back with your shield, or on it._


	7. Chapter 7

probably won't be able to finish this...

So I should probably tell you how it ends  
.

I was basically making it like Heroes of Olympus in reverse

-West to East

Gaea is awakening and so they shouldn't go by land.

Luna is trapped in the Balto statue in NYC, so there's the "Jason" in San Fran area scenario again but with Percy in NY.

Percy has to fight off the giant made to kill Poseidon.

They rescue Luna, and Percy becomes a hero.


End file.
